Arabian seven
by Naitriab
Summary: Vin arrives in the city of four corners and helps the crown prince uncover a plot that will plunge the country into war. SLASH!
1. A battle

Vin had been in the city for 10 days, and while he usually tried to avoid notice he had run out of funds and needed to get more before he moved on to try and avoid his brothers spies. Though he hated to admit it he was lonely, since he had been forced to flee six years previously he had been on his own, he had travelled with Chanu for a time until he had been murdered two years before, at that point he had decided it was safer for him to remain on his own. It was this desire for companionship which had resulted in him helping out an elderly woman on his first afternoon there, this lady Nettie had taken him home with her and fed him and offered him her spare room. Though Vin had been unwilling at first to accept her help she had worn him down and he had agreed, as the days had worn on she reminded him more and more of his mother who had been dead for eight years, he was going to miss her when he moved on but there was no way he could stay.

He was brought out of his thoughts by sounds of a fight from an alley, looking down there he saw a man some years older than himself being set upon by around 6 others, he was managing quite well but Vin knew that there was no way that he could win the fight. Drawing two knives from his waist he prepared to join the fight.

"Leave him alone." He said

"Keep out of this boy." One of them said with a sneer.

"Y'all must have better things to do than this." Vin said already looking round the alley to see where he could be tripped or where there were weapons that he could use if and when he lost his knives.

"Unless you want to be locked up then you will not interfere with royal business." The same man said. Vin had not realised who the group were and he was on the verge of walking away when he looked at the man they were fighting. The man was maybe 10 years older than him, his dirty blonde hair was cut short though it was longer at the front and strands of it were falling into his eyes. It was the eyes that spoke to Vin though, he could not be sure what colour the eyes were but the sadness in them was almost a mirror image of that he knew was in his own on occasion. Seeing that sadness and resignation Vin knew that there was no way that he could just leave the man there to be killed.

"I can't walk away." Vin said simply, this seemed to be the words that broke the stalemate and two of the men walked towards him. The blonde man was moving as well and had laid into one of the men holding him. The two men attacking Vin held the curved swords which seemed to be common for this part of the world as opposed to the straight weapons of his homeland, the only problem with this was that Vin had sold his sword 4 years back and his knives did not have the reach of the other mens longer weapons something that could be a slight impediment on him winning any fight. The blonde man on the other hand held a sword like the other men so did not have the problem of reach, however there were 4 men facing him so he was outnumbered.

Quickly looking round to see if there was a position that he could defend himself from easier than where he was at the entrance to an alley. He knew that if he could get far enough away from his assailants then he had a chance. From a distance he was deadly with those knives, he was good at close combat but not as good a result of the training that he had engaged in his younger years. Seeing a crate a scrambled up it and sent a knife flying towards one his assailants, it buried itself in his throat and he collapsed gurgling to the floor. The few seconds that it took Vin to pull another knife was enough for the second man to get close enough to try and grab Vin's leg, a boot to the face sent the man reeling back and gave Vin a chance to jump down and get in close to the man to a position where he would have the advantage over the other mans longer sword. This move was not without a price as he felt a searing pain down his right side, sinking his knife into the mans stomach he pulled it out and ran to help the blonde.

The blonde had downed one man by punching him into one of the mud brick walls, another was sprawled on the floor with his throat cut, the two men that were left however had seen how easily the two men had dealt with the others and after grabbing the man who Vin had stabbed and the one who had gone into the wall they ran.

Chris was willing to admit that it was a stupid move on his part to have got lured down an alley, he had left the palace for one afternoon tired of all the scheming that surrounded the place and someone had tried to get rid of him. The fact that he could have died was not one that he was blind to and but for the stranger he could have been seriously hurt.

"Thank you." He said looking at the stranger who was retrieving a knife from the throat of one of the royal guards.

"Nothin' to it." Vin replied with a small smile. Chris was shocked by the sheer beauty of the mans face in front of him, he had noticed that before but when the man smiled he was by far the most attractive man that Chris had ever seen and he was used to be surrounded by attractive people. He also looked like he was not a native to the land and if Chris had been in any doubt the clothes and hair proved that he was not from Forner.

"Well thanks then." Chris said holding out his hand. The other man hesitated for a minute as though he suspected a trap before returning the gesture and the pair shook hands.

"I gotta go." Vin said as he pulled his hand out of Chris' and hurriedly left the alley. Once his rescuer had gone Chris hurried back to the palace, he would have to get Ezra to exercise his contacts in the city and find out who the man was as Chris had not felt as strong a connection to anyone since the day he had been introduced to his former wife Sarah and that had been 10 years before. He wanted to find the man and to discover a way to make the loneliness that he had seen in his eyes disappear.


	2. Finding Vin

Disclaimer - not mine just the AU and the setting.

A.N's - sorry forgot to put these in the last bit. This AU is mine at the moment you want to write in it please let me know.

Pairings - This is a SLASH story just in case you missed in on the blurb so Chris/Vin is a given and the others with various F. characters.

* * *

Later that day :

"Ezra ? Ez I know you are in here come-on I don't have all day." Chris said standing in his half brothers room.

"Chris? What do I owe this pleasure to ?"

"I need you to speak to your contacts in the city. A man helped me earlier when I had a little trouble with some of my own guards. I want him found and brought to me." Chris said

"Did you get a name?"

"No."

"How do you expect me to find him then?" Ezra asked practically

"I think he was injured. Tell them to check with the healers and the temples to see if a man in his 20s with blue eyes and shoulder length hair who is not a native to Four Corners has been for help with a wound of any kind."

"I will see what I can do, after all any man who saves the life of our royal prince yet leaves no name is someone I feel I should be meeting." Ezra said and with a slight smirk at the older man. Chris sighed as his half brother left the royal chambers, he should go and find his father Orin now and inform him off the attack but he knew that once the king knew then there was no chance that Chris would ever find out who had bribed the guards to try and kill him.

* * *

Nettie knew that the young man who was sleeping in her spare room was trying to avoid notice and when he did not come out for a couple of days she began to worry. Knocking on his door she got no answer,

"Vin?" She called cautiously as she entered the room smelling sweat as soon as she entered and seeing a lamp under a rug. She crossed to his side and pulled the rug off his head touching the young mans head she felt the fever that was consuming the young man. Swearing under her breath Nettie headed out for a healer Nathan who lived locally and who would help her.

* * *

Nathan looked at the young man now sleeping a bit easier, it was half a day since Nettie had arrived telling him that her young lodger had a fever. He had gone immediately and found the problem was a cut on the mans side which while bound up had gone untreated, using what herbs he had he had treated the man but knowing the less that ideal conditions Nettie lived in were going to prove problematic in helping the young man heal. His own few rooms for those seriously injured were filled which meant the only place he could think for Vin to go was to Josiah a holy man well thought of by the crown prince and a close friend of Nathan's.

"Josiah. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for you to take this man in. I honestly did not know where else to take him." Nathan said looking back at his patient from the rooms doorway.

"I will do all I can to keep him cared for." Josiah said resting one big hand on the mans shoulder.

"Thank you my friend. I must leave now I will be by tomorrow to check on him." Nathan said and hurried back to his small practice where he had left four patients with only his helper to look after them.

* * *

Chris and his sister Mary were sitting playing chess together when Ezra burst into the room.

"Chris, Chris I found him." Ezra said excitedly

"Who?" Chris said momentarily confused.

"The man who helped you. He is with Josiah, he has been there for 4 days. I only found out today." Ezra said feeling rather proud of himself.

"He is! Thank you Ezra. Excuse me Mary I got to go!" Chris said and without the usually clam member of the Travis family was gone. Leaving his sister and half brother laughing.

Vin was feeling much better now and the fever had almost gone, he was still week however and neither Josiah or Nathan were letting him out of bed for long something the young man found very annoying. Hearing voices in the main room he sat up.

"Josiah, you know me I don't want to hurt him." A voice was saying.

"Chris I can't let you back there."

"Please, I just want to speak to him for a short while then I'll leave if that's what he wants."

"A couple of minutes just remember he is still not recovered I don't want you wearing him out or Nathan will be after me." There was a loud laugh from someone then the door was pushed open fully and the blonde man Vin had helped before was standing there.

"I am sorry that you were injured helping me." The man said closing the door and sitting on his bed.

"I am fine now." Vin said oddly shy with this man who was looking at him so intensely and causing shivers to run through his body.

"I have been looking for you. Will you come back to the palace with me? Until you are fully healed anyway."

"Palace ? Who are you?"

"Christopher Travis, I'm the eldest son of King Orin." The man said.

"Your highness." Vin said trying to bow from his seated position and trying to work out if his father and Orin Travis had ever had much to do with each other.

"Please don't do that. Can I have your name ?" Chris said hating it when people bowed to him.

"Vin Tanner." He said looking up blue eyes meeting green in a connection forged at a first glance.

"Well Vin Tanner will you come with me ?" Chris asked breaking the locked gazes. He held out his hand to the younger man in a symbolic gesture and with only a slight pause Vin reached out and the two men shook hands changing the futures of two countries.

* * *

I know quite a few people have been reading this, could I have some feedback as I feel more encouraged to write more if I know people are interested in what I'm writing. 


	3. Another attempt?

These lot don't belong to me just the AU does so please don't use it without asking me. Thanks for the reviews for the other chapters I tried to get back to everyone but if I didn't manage it then sorry.

* * *

One week later:

He'd been in palace for a week now and he wanted to move on but was not sure how to raise the issue. Chris and his family had for the most part taken to him warmly though Vin had yet to work out how some of them were related and doubted that he would figure it out any time soon.

"Vin?" A soft voice questioned from behind him. Charlotte! The woman had been in palace for slightly longer than him and he had yet managed to find a way to escape from her as she seemed to have fixed her attentions on him from the day they had met.

"Charlotte, how can I help you?" Vin asked his eyes flicking to the exit hoping for someone to come by and rescue him.

"Well I was wondering if you would come for a meal with me in the gardens, just you and me." She ran one finger slowly up his chest, which caused him to take a step back.

"Vin there you are." Buck said walking into the room, the adopted brother of Chris the big man had taken to Vin from the moment they had met on account of his saving Chris' life.

"Bucklin" Vin said a look of such relief on his face at seeing the man that Buck's smile grew that much wider.

"Chris was lookin' for you. He's down in the stables somewhere." Buck said and Vin almost ran out the room. "Now darlin' you want ol' Buck to join you on that lunch?"

Chris was not a patient man, he was willing to acknowledge that himself, but he was trying for once something that Ezra and Buck both seemed to take great delight in. Vin Tanner was the reason behind this sudden restraint, the pair of them had connected in some way the first time they had met and Chris was sure he'd met the younger man before, a deep friendship had been formed in the first days of Vin's stay as the young man was too weak to do much and Chris had been by his side all the time. It had not taken long for Chris to fall in lust, he suspected it might have been from the first time he'd seen those blue eyes but something had stopped him from making a move on Vin in anyway so had had to stand by while Charlotte had persuaded the man he wanted himself and just made sure someone always interrupted her before things went to far.

The man he was thinking about ran in at that point, long hair having escaped from it's usual tail, face slightly flushed and panting slightly.

"You ok Vin?" Chris asked

"Buck said you was lookin' for me."

"Wanted to see if you fancied coming into the city to pay Nathan and Nettie a visit." Chris said reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Sure anythin' that gets me out of here."

"Charlotte?"

"Charlotte." Vin agreed.

"Come on then, lets get out of here." Chris said slinging an arm over Vin's shoulders and leading the younger man out of the stables. He glanced back at the palace as he had always done since his son was alive and used to wave his daddy goodbye from one of the windows. The quick glance showed him a figure in one of the windows about to throw something. Diving into Vin who'd walked ahead of him and knocking him to the floor a knife whizzed over their heads to fall to the ground some distance in front of him.

"Chris you alright?" Vin asked anxiously one hand running over the back of the blonde mans head.

"I'm fine are you?" Chris asked seeing a red mark where it looked as though his shoulder had come into contact with Vin's chin. He tilted the mans head to examine it as guards came running with JD in their midst.

"Chris! You aren't hurt are you?"

"We're fine JD, we got out the way in time." Chris assured the young man, he noticed Vin trying to edge away and grabbed his arm keeping him close.

"Rest assured we will find out who tried to have you killed your highness." One of the guards promised

"Keep me appraised of the situation. Vin come with me." Chris said almost hauling the young man into the stables once more.

"Let go a me Chris." Vin said trying to pull away.

"Are you alright?"

"Who was they trying to kill me or you?"

"I think me. I have not had any luck in finding who tried to have me killed before."

"Thank you all the same for saving my life." Vin said seriously much of his accent going for once and seeming like a different person.

"I can't loose you Vin. When Sarah and Adam were taken from me I though the world was ending but I moved on, I was my fathers heir and as such needed to help look after the country. Then I met you and I started to live again, my heart died once Vin I don't know if it could recover from a second loss." Chris said seriously.

"Chris don't say that please." Vin begged not wanting this, not now, not when he was going to have to leave again soon so as to protect these people from his brother.

"I can't not say it Vin" Chris said before kissing Vin softly, it was little more than a light pressure of lips to lips before Vin pulled back, eyes wide.

"I can't do this Chris. I can't stay." He said wanting nothing more than to stay, he saw the hurt in green eyes before he ran from the stables to his rooms wanting to shut the world out.

* * *

Thanks for reading so far let me know what you think and I'll be starting on the new chapter soon. 


	4. A mothers help

Thanks to everybody who reviewed this so far, none of the characters are mine though the AU is at the moment. Hope this chapter is enjoyed as much as the others.

* * *

Buck and Ezra had watched as Chris and Vin had moped about the palace for the last few, it was obvious that neither was happy but could not find a way to resolve the issues between them. Eventually Ezra went to the one person who he thought would be able to help, his mother and one of the wives of King Orrin.

"Why Ezra darlin' what can I do for you today?" Maude asked.

"I need some advice mother."

"Of course my darling boy, what is it that you need to know?"

"You heard about our visitor to the palace I presume."

"The man who saved Chris' life, my dear boy who do you take me for? I know about him, and about that little vixen Charlotte trying to gain his interest. I even know about our prince kissing him in the stable."

"Since the stable they have been miserable and Bucklin and I want to get them happy again." Ezra said stealing a piece of candid fruit from the ornate bowl

"I know just the person to help me dear boy." Maude said with a smile.

Chris looked up in surprise when someone entered his room in a hurry. He was even more surprised when he saw it was Vin, his blue eyes wide and hair dishevelled.

"Vin?" He questioned.

" I need somewhere to hide." Vin panted, eyes darting about the room.

"Why?"

"Charlotte." Vin said as though that would be enough reason.

"I thought she was leaving you alone."

"So did I. Someone said to her that I was playin' hard to get and she set her sights on me again."

"Vin."

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me." Chris said noticing someone coming towards his rooms, when it looked as though Vin was going to protest he took the few steps forward and kissed Vin as soon as the younger man heard footsteps behind himself he relaxed and slid his arms round Chris' waist and kissed back. When the footsteps receded the two men broke apart.

"Think she got the message?" Vin asked not releasing his hold on the blonde.

"If she didn't I'd be happy to repeat this as many times as are needed." Chris said with a wolfish smile.

"I haven't been honest with you Chris and if you truly want this then there's some things you need to know."

"Tell me." Chris urged moving them to sit on a couch.

"I have been hunted for the last six years by my brother, Eli Joe, he killed our father because our father wanted me to take over after his death. Eli wants to hold the throne but can't be secure as long as I'm alive."

"Throne?" Chris asked.

"My father was king of Tascosa, I am the rightful king of Tascosa." Vin said.

* * *

Sorry that bit was so short but I thought that was as good a place as any to leave it evil grin 


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